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Character Sketch of Uriah Heep in David Copperfield

Uriah Heep is an important figure in the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. He is the villain of die novel. He is a mischievous and black-hearted man. He is the logo of Dickens. He is a hypocrite. His meanness is incomparable. He betrays everybody. He is dishonest and ungrateful.

Uriah Heep is a man of cunning and treacherous nature! He very cunningly and deceitfully learns from David the secrets of Mr. Wickfield’s business and private life. Uriah Heep is a thorough hypocrite and cheat. He is a slimy, creepy imposter. He pretends humility. He poses to be a humble man. But all his humility is a mere show. He is highly ambitious, but his ambition is very bad. His ambition is only to get money, position, and power. For that, he is going to stoop to any extent. He displaces his master. He causes misery and suffering to all.

Uriah Heep practices cheating in cold blood. Firstly, he tries to know all about his master’s private life and his business secrets. He invites David to his house where he and his mother try to get information from him in a very clever manner. Then he studies law till late hours. Not that he wants to become a lawyer, but because he wants to master the legal intricacies and technicalities so as to use them in his plot against Wickfield. He, then, proceeds very cunningly to enmesh Mr. Wickfield. He forges his signatures on certain important documents with the result that the poor man is soon under his thumb. Then he blackmails him and forces him to make him a partner in the firm. He also commits more forgeries. He forces Mr. Wickfield into using Mrs.Betsey’s money for meeting business commitments that either does not exist or have already been provided for. He shows Mr. Wickfield that he is trying to save him from imminent degradation, while, in fact, he is himself pocketing all the money. He also draws a bill of sale on all his household furniture, in return for which Heep is to pay him an annuity, thus making Mr. Wickfield financially dependent on Heep. The whole plot shows his cruelty, unscrupulousness, and mischievousness. Thus he is the cause of the downfall of his own master who has firm faith in him.

Hypocrisy is the second nature of Uriah Heep. He is a source of misery and suffering to many persons. Being frustrated and unhappy from childhood, he gives suffering and cruelty to his society. He is the source of all the miseries to his master and his daughter, Agnes. In fact, she knows full well that he is a devil incarnate yet she is helpless. He becomes a rival to David and creates obstacles in his marriage with Agnes. He takes out by fraudulent means all the money of Miss Betsey. The result is that not only Betsey but also David has to undergo a lot of economic difficulties and troubles. David has to give up his plans of studying law. He has to work as a secretary on account of Miss Betsey’s loss of money. When this calamity takes place David is engaged to Dora and hopes to marry her very soon. But his poverty becomes a hindrance though Dora continues to love him, her father Mr. Spenlow tells him not to visit his daughter anymore. All this suffering is caused to David on account of Uriah Heep’s villainy. Thus Uriah Heep is a black-hearted villain.

To conclude, Uriah Heep is a heap of rubbish and dirt, of cruelty and villainy. He is selfish, greedy, and hypocritical. He causes misery and suffering to those persons who come in contact with him.

Character Sketch of Agnes in David Copperfield

Character Sketch of Agnes in David Copperfield

Agnes, the daughter of Mr. Wickfield, is a very important character in the novel. David Copperfield is taken to the house of Mr. Wickfield at the stage when he has started making judgments of people-their genera! impression, their outlook, and their moral views. He is not very correct nor very systematic in his judgment. But this quality makes David’s observations quite significant as this gives him the power to act according to his understanding. Even at this stage, the first look of Agnes makes David observe a peacefulness and a calmness which he could never wipe off his mind. He saw Agnes performing domestic chores with interest and taking care of her father with tenderness.

She takes David upstairs to show them his room, lays down his meal, arranges drinks for her father, and sings him to quiet sleep. Because of the high quality of education that David receives at Dr. Strong’s school, he starts thinking of his career in very practical terms. He leaves Mr. Wickfield’s house after he sets up his own legal business. In a sense, he had forgotten Agnes. But the latter had a full understanding of David’s character.

She was aware of the hardships he had suffered and understand the materialistic aspirations he pursued so vigorously. But she knew that she could depend On David for any kind of help. The crisis in which she found her father on account of the diabolic influence of Uriah Heep forced her to seek David’s help. And rightly David did everything possible to free Mr. Wickfield from this evil influence.

Again, after this short intercourse, Agnes is away from David’s thoughts. David is married. But his life is not happy. Although he has achieved success, wealth, and fame he has not known peace and satisfaction. They come to him only when in the last he seeks the company of Agnes.

Agnes is thus presented as a self-sacrificing character, as a person who shows remarkable maturity in her thoughts and action. Of the several women characters in the novel, she has been presented as the perfect match for David because like her he has also a sense of values and a calmness about him in spite of the turbulent life that he has led.

Character Sketch of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield

Character Sketch of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield

Give the character sketch of Betsey Trotwood.
Or, “Betsey Is a woman of independent nature.” Discuss.
Or, Betas? is a lover of real virtue.” Discuss.

Betsey Trotwood is a woman of arresting personality. She is a fairy mother to David She plays a very important role in the life of the hero of the novel.

Betsey in fact is a woman of independent nature and strong views. She does not care for public opinion. She drives her carriage herself through the streets of Canterbury in defiance of public opinion. When she does not like a person, she tells him so bluntly and fearlessly. She speaks plainly to Uriah Heep, She is even ready to give a physical chastisement to him.

Betsey is a kind and generous woman. She herself has suffered a lot. Therefore, she knows what suffering means to others. She is always prepared to help the suffering and needy person. She adopts him and tries her best to settle him in life. She proves to be the saviour of David.

Betsey is a lover of real virtue. She has a hatred for meanness. Before sending David to school, she advises him in a motherly way to avoid three vices A meanness, dishonesty, and cruelty. She is kind to Dora. She praises Agnes for her good qualities and is happy when David marries her in the end. She is kind to Mr. T and Mrs. Micawber and helps them to emigrate to Australia She possesses a high sense of morality, dignity, and character. She cannot be judged by the appearance she keeps but by the kind heart and soul she has.

Betsey is, in fact, very dignified, sympathetic, and helpful. Perhaps her own marriage has made her eccentric and created a grim impression on her mind. Perhaps her own unhappiness in marriage is reflected in her attitude toward Dora. She has undaunted courage and determination. When she loses all her property, she does not suffer a breakdown but faces the situation with a cool and quiet mind. She is a practical woman and puts her ideas and ambitions into practice. Though haughty, she is never mean and vulgar. She is friendly towards her servants, John and Peggotty.

To conclude, Betsey plays a very important role in moulding David’s life and character and paves the way for his success and happiness.

Character Sketch of David Copperfield

Character Sketch of David Copperfield

Write a character sketch of David Copperfield.
Give, the character sketch of David Copperfield.
Or, “David Copperfield is a man of helping attitude.” Discuss.
Or, “David is a man of sensitive nature.” Discuss.

It is rightly said that as the novel is autobiographical David Copperfield ( is a prototype of Charles Dickens. In drawing his character Dickens has certainly used the memories of his childhood and youth, especially of his feelings and thoughts as he suffered the pressures of domestic unhappiness, poverty, ill-treatment by teachers and schoolmates and the growing urges for proper education and dignified living.

A large part of the novel is focused on the child David. A posthumous child, he develops a great feeling for his dead father whose grave he can see at different hours of the day. His attachment to his mother is also touching. He has great satisfaction that his mother is pretty and loves him so much.
But his powers of observation show that he has an alert mind. Before his mother marries Mr. Murdstone he has a justified dislike of the man. From his physical appearance to mental attributes, he detests everything about him.

After his mother’s marriage life becomes very distressing for him. But he can fight back. When Mr. Murdstone canes him mercilessly he bites his hand off, Later on, this courage helps him carve a niche for himself.

His experiences at the shoe polish factory are many. There is the excruciating feeling of poverty and then an experience of meeting people like Micawers who could be very civil and helpful despite poverty. David’s decision ta-pay a visit to his great aunt is indeed a turning point. The so-called harsh lady takes him to Mr. Wickfield and to Dr. Strong’s school which helps David acquire a useful education in a conducive atmosphere. Now he meets Agnes whose calm reserve has a tranquilizing effect on his mind.

It is true that he is not very good at making the right connections. He chooses Dora as his wife, who cannot give him full support. But David has been a little introspective, open to the feelings of others, and is very kind and generous. These qualities help him solve the numerous problems of his life. We have, great satisfaction when David, at last, marries Agnes. For the beginning of a truly happy life, this union was essential. David overcomes all difficulties by his perseverance and his rational bent of mind.

David Copperfield is the central character of the novel. All the events revolve around him. That is why he has become an immortal literary figure.
David Copperfield is a slim boy. He has a handsome personality wife an open, frank, and generous nature. Therefore, everybody likes him and he forms a lifelong friendship with Steerforth and Traddles. He is also liked by and cared for by Agnes and Mr. Wickfield, and then Dora. It is all due to his amiable nature and good heart that he is able to create a place for himself in a materialistic world.

David Copperfield is a man of a helping attitude. He helps others. While living with Micawbers, he helps them to sell their belongings in order to pay their debts. Even when they are in prison, David daily goes to see and help them in his own small way. Similarly, he goes to Peggotty, his nurse, when he hears that Barkis, her husband is seriously ill. He is grateful to his aunt, and he helps her much when she is in financial difficulties.

David is a man of a highly sensitive nature. He cannot bear the least insult or neglect and suffers terribly as a consequence. When Mr. Murdstone gives him worse treatment, he does not tolerate it. At school, he feels unhappy about Steerforth insulting Mr. Mell for his poverty.

David is honest, kind, and conscientious. In his life, he never took recourse to dishonesty even when he has to suffer in consequence. When, after his engagement with Dora, he realizes that he has suddenly become poor, he thinks it proper to prepare Dora for marrying a poor man. He is faithful and grateful to all those who help him in difficulty. It is out Of his gratitude that he helps her in the hour of distress. It is on account of his respect for his old master, Dr. Strang that he accepts a job under him on a very low wage. In the face of his sufferings, he is undaunted. He is sincere and faithful in friendship. As a nephew, as a friend, and as a husband, he has no rival. He brings joy and comfort to all.

Thus, the life of David is the life sketch of Dickens himself. He is the child of environment and temperament like Dickens himself. Adversity puts a man on his true merit. Misery is the true test of our genuine worth. David is made by his trial and tribulations.

Character Sketch of Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield

Character Sketch of Mr. Micawber in David Copperfield

Write down a character sketch of Mr. Micawber.

David Copperfield met Mr. Micawber when he was working at Murdstone and Grinby’s warehouse. As he needed a house he was introduced to Mr. Micawber by Mr. Quinion, another employee of the firm. When he started living with Mr. Micawber’s family as a tenant there started a friendship between the two.

Mr. Micawber, David soon learned, was a Rice-friendly person. But his family liabilities were of such a nature that he was in debt over head and ears. Although Mr. Micawber kept a cheerful countenance he was moving towards a crisis. David was just managing to keep his body and soul together at that time. The sight of Mr. Micawber being surrounded by creditors distressed him further. He tried to case Mr. Micawber’s position by lending him whatever he could spare.

But this was of no avail. At last Mr. Micawber was sent to prison by his creditors. In his absence, David tried to take care of his family-Mrs. Micawber and a number of children. The imprisonment could not change the attitude of Mr. Micawber. As he could not increase his income he continued to be in trouble. These were one characteristic that further distinguished Mr. Micawber. Although he did not have any superior education he had cultivated a style of lofty composition and he generally communicated to David in long letters written in an ornate style. They are suggestive of a comic contradiction in the personality of a man who was leading a miserable life but they at least suggest a higher state of mind. Which proves to be very favourable to David later on.

A change is noticeable in Mr. Micawber when he enters into the service of Uriah Heep. At the time when David tries to hint at the diabolic nature of Uriah Heep, Mr. Micawber unhesitatingly tells David that there should be drawn a line between the two old friends on this issue. It is only David’s devotion that allows their friendship to continue at this juncture.

Mr. Micawber works with great loyalty at Uriah Heep’s firm. But when something fishy comes to his notice he maintains a quiet vigil and systematically collects such evidence against Uriah Heep that can stand in a court of law. At David’s aunt’s house Mr. Micawber bursts out against Uriah Heep for the first time; what is the matter gentlemen? What is not the matter? Villainy is the matter, fastness is the matter; deception, frand,’ conspiracy are the matter and the name of the whole atrocious mass is -HEEP! finally, it is Mr. Micawber’s piling up of facts and documents that put Uriah Heep into the trap. He then cannot deny that it is he who is behind the financial ruin of Mr. Wickfield. Mr. Micawber proves to be a big help in resolving Mr. Wickfield’s problem and it brings great relief to David Copperfield. Though Mr. Micawber never saw good days he remained devoted to principles of honesty and hard work. Moreover, he had immense trust in David, great personal regard for him, and a sense of gratitude also for helping him in difficult times. He had forbidden David from saying anything against Uriah Heep. But when he traced violation of law in Heep’s transaction with Mr. Wickfield, he very quietly obtained perfect proof and only then did he open his mouth.

Mr. Micawber’s oddities are completely forgotten in this new avatar of him as a saviour and an investigator. The fusion of sentimentalism and realism that Charles Dickens had attempted is best revealed in the character of Mr. Micawber.

A Pinch of Snuff Summary Questions and Answers

A Pinch of Snuff Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Write down a summary of A Pinch of snuff.
Answer:
Given the prevalence of VVIP culture in India, it is quite natural to have a comic fallout in everything about the so-called influential persons. We have politicians and ministers who are pompous but basically ignorant. They depend on their secretaries and pas for disposal of their files. Ministers are an insecure lot. They aspire for all kinds of comfort and luxury; but they are afraid of losing their, portfolios or are desirous of such assignments which could improve their fortunes astronomically. They are therefore always in need of men who could help them their material goals.

In such a scenario enters a man like Nanukaka. Being endowed with a gift of acting and discerning eyes he is a fit person to prey upon such VVIPs. He can put on airs, he can disguise himself quite skilfully and can manipulate persons and things in his favour.

Manohar Malgonkar has created fin Nanukaka an endearing example of a resourceful person who, by his tricks, is able to befool the mighty officials and ministers and enjoy his success. We also enjoy his stratagems and feel the power of poetic justice in his pranks.

The young narrator, working in the Delhi secretariat, is informed by his mother of the arrival of Nanukaka. The latter is to meet a minister. The narrator dutifully escorts him to the residence of the minister. Nanukaka emerges back in a sullen mood.

The next day the narrator takes Nanukaka to Lala Sohanlal. As they are waiting to be ushered in the presence of the Lala, Nanukaka goes on eulogizing Hajrat Barkat Ali. The effect is magical. Lala comes out to receive Nanukaka personally. He then pleads humbly to Nanukaka to do a favour for his son. In a more adventurous turn, Nanukaka dons the role of an astrologer and makes a stunning impression upon the Welfare Minister.

Question 2.
Write down a character sketch of Nanukaka.
Answer:
Nanukaka is a man of the world who has knowledge of the selfishness and weaknesses of highly placed individuals over whom he can play any trick without compunction. He typifies the class of men that are found everywhere, especially in the Indian power circle. After independence, unfortunately, power has remained in most cases in the hands of the people who have risen in politics either because of wealth or of muscle power Naturally, their people are quite vulnerable-anybody who promises to further enhance their interest can have an easy influence over them. Nanukaka is one person who understands the basic hollowness of the so called powerful people and makes them bend before him by using psychological pressure.

Interestingly, Nanukaka is shown to be in love with the regional costumes. But again he wears a silk turban or carries a countrymade towel, not for patriotic reasons but to create an impression of being the son of the soil, of being a man of the grassroots.

Nanukaka can disguise himself so well that he can be taken to be a person that he wishes to be understood. He forces the narrator also to wear jodhpurs so that their princely connections could be apparently spotted.

And Nanukaka is a great conversationalist. He uses words, phrases and even distorted facts to make an impression on the listeners. It is by feigning intimacy with Hajrat Barkat Ali that he gains the audience of Lala Sohanlal.
“Quite a resourceful person in his own ways, Nahtikaka regains a comic figure” as he is used by the author to expose-the horrible weaknesses of the Indian political system.

Question 3.
Discuss the significance of the title. How is it related to the theme of the story?
Answer:
The title ‘A Pinch of Snuff’ is very appropriate and very symbolic. Like tobacco, snuff is also a thing, of addiction. But stuff has been a favourite of aristocratic people who keep a stall silver vial from which they take out snuff in small quantities and thrust it gently into their nostrils. The entire paraphernalia-from holding the silver vial to feeling the snuff and pushing it gently inside the nostrils-makes an interesting spectacle. Nanukaka, whether he is addicted to snuff or not, understands the aristocratic touch it gives to his personality. Therefore, he has stuck to the habit of taking a pinch of snuff, especially during moments of dramatic significance. To suggest how deeply he is in through or to show that he is quite relaxed he would put a pinch of snuff into his nostrils.

Since everything inNanukaka’s personality is designed to make impressions on powerful people this pinch of snuff is also calculated to make others understand his superior status. Naturally A Pinch of Snuff makes a very appropriate title.

How Free is the Press Summary Questions and Answers

How Free is the Press Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
The editorial policy of a popular daily is controlled by two chief factors. Which are they? Explain.
Answer:
The editorial policy of a popular daily is controlled by two chief factors; the first is the interest of the advertisers from how it gets the money which enables it to keep up its large circulation. No widely circulated newspaper dare support a public policy, however much in the national interest, that might conflict with the vested interests of its advertisers. Thus, any proposal to control the marketing of branded goods (as. For example, of margarine in 1939) will be violently opposed. On the latest hygienic grounds, by the papers that cany the branded advertising. On the other hand, any product that refuses to play the high advertising rates of a powerful national organ will be again on the highest moral grounds denounced, smashed and driven off the market.

Question 2.
Describe in your own words the instance of deliberate miracle mongering?
Ans. Deliberate Miracle-mongering it was recently reported in various local papers that, in a public address, I had delivered some 20,000 words in the space of an hour and a quarter. This would in any case have been impossible actually, the reporter had the full text of my speech in his hands and could have seen for himself that it consisted of almost exactly 8000 words. The error was thus precisely 150 percent, a useful figure on which to base one’s estimate of truth in reporting.

Question 3.
Have you ever written a letter of protest to any Newspaper? What was the fate of this letter?
Answer:
No, I do not ever write a letter of protest to any newspaper, flat suppression letters of protest man are written these may be (a) England, (b) Printed in full or in part, accompanied by an editorial comment to the effect that the words reported were actually said, and that the speaker must not expect to monopolise are paper’s valuable space (c) Answered privately by the editor, a manoeuvefe that does nothing to correct the false impression left in the public a maneuver that does nothing to correct the false impression left in the public mind only occasionally and usually from a provincial paper, does one receive a full apology and correction let me quote honoris cause, a note written to me from an editor of the lower school.

I Have a Dream Summary Questions and Answers

I Have a Dream Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Write down a summary of I Have A Dream.
Answer:
It is a very painful fact of the modem age that racial discrimination continued for a very long time — the whites in America denied the Negroes their citizenship rights and they tortured and persecuted them latter’without a feeling of guilt. The Americans forgot that Abraham Lincoln, their great president, more than a hundred years ago signed the Emancipation proclamation and promised to bring the Negroes on par with the Americans.

Martin Luther king, the great Negro leader, in this speech, sums up the actual conditions of poverty, discrimination and torture which the Negroes suffered in his time and exhorts them to wage a struggle against this injustice.

He reminds Americans of the big noble gesture shown by Lincoln and asks them to honour his commitment. He tells them that their belief inequality will remain a hollow slogan if they continued their policy of segregation.

To the Negroes Martin Luther king makes a fervent appeal to remain patient and unyielding in the face of violence and persecution. He tells them that this – was the beginning of a great movement that will stop only when the Negroes are given citizenship rights. He is aware of their suffering, but he believes that this suffering has powers of redemption.

Observing the presence of some Americans in the meeting he says that this is symbolic of goodwill that exists between the two communities. Although Martin Luther king believes in the Negro cause he does not believe that all Americans are enemies of Negro freedom. He tells his audience that one day the American nation will rise up and follow its creed of equality in true sense.

The tone of the speech is highly optimistic. Being a churchman king’s speech has the strength of conviction. His language has a biblical eloquence, his ideas have a religious basis. He feces the tragic facts of racial discrimination quite boldly and suggests that the ultimate solution will not be merely political, it will in feet come from spiritual understanding and deliver the Negroes from the darkness.

Question 2.
What would be fatal for the nation? Why? Explain.
Answer:
Martin Luther King belonged to the mainstream of the Negro movement and he knew that it had gathered such force that the Americans would be wrong if they deferred the granting of citizenship rights to Negroes. By 1963 there was a worldwide sympathy for the Negro cause-The Negroes themselves stood united and determined. Undeterred by torture and violence they were opposing the Americans with great dignity and discipline. Barring a few incidents of violence on both sides the Negroes remained peaceful and non-violent. This non-violence gave them the power of endurance and also great determination. On sensing, this very mood of the Negroes Martin Luther King asserts that it would be fatal to overlook the urgency of the moment.

Question 3.
What does Martin Luther King urge his people to do? How Should it be conducted?
Answer:
Martin Luther King believed in the power of non-violence. He, therefore, asks the Negroes to follow always the path of non-violence. He asks them to be patient and courageous in the face of violence. He asks them to cultivate the power of the soul to meet physical violence. And he also assures them that there is tremendous goodwill in the Americans as a whole: a small minority of the American population may entertain racial prejudices but majority of the Americans were in favour of justice and equality.

Question 4.
What was Martin Luther King’s dream? Elaborate.
Answer:
Martin Luther king believed in the ultimate reconciliation between the Americans and the Negroes. It is this idea of reconciliation that he expresses by reiterating his dream in various details. He had the dream of the American nation rising up and following its creed of equality in the true sense. He also had the vision of complete fraternity -he believed that a day will come when the colour of skin will not matter; a person will instead be judged by his character.

Another vision of his was that in Albania where there was presently much hostility the situation will be reversed and the Americans and the Negroes will walk one day on its street as brothers and sisters. And, finally, his vision was that the glory of God will be revealed to all the people, which will bring a complete cessation of all miseries.

A Marriage Proposal Summary Questions and Answers

A Marriage Proposal Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Write down a summary of the play A Marriage Proposal.
Answer:
A Marriage Proposal is a very amusing comedy by Anton Chekhov; the Russian writer. The comedy results from the temperamental weaknesses of the characters who display a total disregard of commonsense.

Choobookov and Lom Lomov are neighbours. One day the latter calls on his neighbour in morning coat and gloves. Choobookov is naturally happy to welcome him. But he wants to know why the young man should be unnecessarily so formal about his dress. Lomov goes on talking pleasantries. But he is quite nervous and goes talking sips of water to regain his composure and strength. In the midst of this mental condition anyhow Lomov manages to inform, Choobookov that he has come to ask for Natalia’s, his daughter’s hand in marriage. Choobokov is delighted. He goes inside to call Natalia. But he does not tell her why Lomov has come.

Natalia enters the drawing room and speaks words of welcome to Lomov. She also expresses her surprise to see that her neighbour has come to see her in such formal dress. In order to be pleasant to Natalia Lomov starts talking about the cordial relations that have prevailed between the two families for a long. And then he inadvertently refers to the OX Meadows which he calls his family property. This is a topic that angers Natalia who has always known that there was formerly some dispute over it but now the Meadows are settled in the name of their family. The debate between them takes an interminable form, making Lomov completely forget the marriage proposal he had come for.

As the debate continues and both try to shout the other down there comes Choobookov who does not need much persuasion from Natalia in joining it. He also asserts his family’s claim to the Ox Meadows and tries to correct Lomov’s approach when Lomov does not relent both indulge in a sort of digging skeletons from the cupboard of their family histories. Finally, Lomov just staggers out of the drawing room.

It is then that Choobookov tells Natalia that Lomov had come with a proposal to marry her. Strangely, this has a hysterical effect on the girl who wants Lomov to be brought back. And when he comes they both forget the purpose of the resumption of the meeting. They now argue over the superiority of their hounds — Lomov says that his Guess is superior to the pug-jawed Leap of Natalia. In the meantime the condition of Lomov takes a worse turn — he almost gasps for breath and appears to have collapsed Natalia wishes to commit suicide. Lomov is revived after a few draughts of water. And then Choobookov, almost with a force, pushes their hands into a union and the marriage proposal is seasoned to be accepted.

Question 2.
Write a short note on the character of Lomov on the basis of his self-revelation in Scene I.
Answer:
Lomov is a young man, wanting confidence and abilities. No person in his sense would have gone in morning coat and gloves to make a marriage proposal. It is again surprising that in countries where the marriage takes place after courtship he should have thought of speaking to the father instead of to Natalia.

The way he says that he has come to seek Choobookov’s help makes the latter think that the boy needs money. That is, Lomov does not know how to speak plainly and directly At last, Choobookov has to warm him against beating about the bush.

By his own admission, Lomon’s nerves are in terrible condition and he frequently needs draughts of water to steady himself. All this suggests that Lomov has entered the house of Chbobookov in utter thoughtlessness. He should have taken some care of himself before venturing out in this manner. And it is this absolute lack of preparedness that makes Lomov a fool of him. In spite of the encouragement of Choobookov the young man fails to have control of himself and speak of his proposal in a proper way. Lomov turns out into a comic and ridiculous figure because of this lack of self-control.

The Earth Summary Questions and Answers

The Earth Summary Questions and Answers

Question 1.
Write down a summary of The Earth.
Answer: it is quite sad that children who owe so much to their parents do not look after them. As they depended on their parents in their infancy the latter also depends on them in old age. The theme of neglect of the parents in the current writing makes a painful but compelling note. There is another side to the issue: some parents by their pampering approach encourage children to become self-centered. H E Bates in this story presents such a case of defective upbringing. By their imprudence, the parents here make a young man selfish and cruel.

The story is about the Johnsons and their child Benjy. Johnson is a preacher who develops an excessive fondness for talking that virtually incapacitates him for hard work. He neglects work on his farms, his economic transactions and is unaware of what is happening in his household.

His son, Benjy, shows symptoms of mental retardation. He however manages to read write and learn elementary arithmetic. The doctor suggests that he should be put on some practical task. The parents accordingly give him a piece of land where he sets up a poultry business.

The result is startling. In a short time, Benjy turns out to be quite prosperous by practicing modem methods. His deposits in the local bank increase not only because of rising business but also because of the kindness of the parents who never demand any money from him. When Benjy turns twenty-one Johnson hands over to him the bank passbook. Benjy takes it without a show of gratitude, without even the formal thank you. The parents sense something abnormal in this gesture, but they keep mum.

There is a maid, Florence, on the farm who is now married to Benjy. This marriage took place in spite of the opposition of Mrs. Johnson. When Mrs. Johnson objected to certain habits of Florence, she was coolly told by Benjy to live separately. By this time the farms of Johnsons had become unproductive for want of attention. The final below to them came when Benjy took away their lands and turned them out.

The story makes a bitter reading. It is a psychological study of a callous child. But the writer does not ignore the shortcomings of Johnson who talked so much that he must have had an idea that the earth designed, created, and nourished by God would take care of itself… They had lived a vague, trusting life without a system as a result they had nothing.

Question 2.
Sketch the character of Johnson.
Answer:
Johnson has been presented in this story as a victim of the cunning and cruelty of his simple-looking son, Benjy. But H. E. Bates has made a critical study of the principal weakness of Johnson also. There is one crucial remark about him – he himself was lazy man with too large a trust in Providence. And this laziness combined with this obvious positive – like trust in providence ruins Johnson.

Johnson is a preacher who loves talking so much that he indulges in it more as giving vent to his ideas than as serious business which should be conducted at the appropriate time. Faith in God he had, but this faith should have been joined to industry and commonsense. Instead of attending to farming, he wastes his time over idle talk.

But Johnson is a very kind and considerate father. The retarded mental development of Benjy makes Johson more favrourably disposed to him than usual Again, his treatment of Benjy is guided by misguided kindness. He watches Benjy grow into a selfish and cruel young man without thinking of any suitable corrective step. The upshot of all this poor neglect of practical business is that the arrival of Florence creates a barrier between the son and the parents.

With great insight into human affairs. H,E. Bates has presented this shocking case of Johnson in order to highlight the value of prudence and practicality.

Question 3.
Sketch the character of Benjy.
Answer:
The complete focus in the story is on the nature and disposition of Benjy, the only child of Johnson born with ugly features. Benjy shows signs of mental retardation for whose treatment he is taken to a doctor. The latter advises Johnson to put the boy to some practical business to make him use the mental powers that he has. Benjy is asked to keep hens.

The boy who is otherwise imbecile understands every aspect of poultry farming. In a short time, he uses his studies to organise his business very scientifically, leading to his quick prosperity. But Benjy grows also into an utterly selfish and cruel person who pockets the passbook of his account in the bank without a word of thanks to his parents.

Benjy marries Florence in a heat of passion and this brings a woman who creates a barrier between him and his parents. A woman of poor taste, she shows a complete disregard of the feelings of Benjy’s parents, leading to final separation.

The way Benjy turns out his parents from their land is almost difficult to understand. Here is a case of cunning transforming itself into incurable cruelty and self-centeredness. H.E. Bates has therefore rightly repeated that behind simplicity Benjy had sharp cunning that deceived everybody.